Girls Only! Read Free

wishing she hadn’t already sealed the envelope.
    Finding it, she toyed with the notion of including a big, fat P.S. on the back. But no, she wouldn’t want anyone to read her comment. Least of all Dad.
    She would wait and send another note. After practice would be a good time. She’d tell Jenna all about her dad’s first visit to the rink, watching her practice her jumps and spins. He would observe her stamina training . . . her technique study. Everything! This was too good to be true!
    Livvy brushed her auburn hair back into a quick ponytail. She studied her full bangs in the mirror, wondering if she should let them grow out so she could wear her hair pulled back, like Michelle Kwan. Or trim them and make them fluffier, like Tara Lipinski.
    She set her hairbrush back on the dresser, unable to decide about a new look. Standing in front of the mirror, her eyes fell on another framed picture of her mother. Her all-time favorite.
    Holding the familiar image up to her face, she compared the picture to herself. “Mom and I actually looked like sisters . . . almost.” Having made this discovery, her tears threatened to spill over.
    Quickly, she placed the picture back on the dresser. Her stomach rumbled loudly, and she hurried downstairs to the kitchen. Too much thinking made her super hungry, but before she opened the cereal box, she peered out the back door.
    Dad was nowhere to be seen.
    Her heart sank as she poured milk over the cereal. Livvy knew as sure as she was Olivia Kay Hudson that her dad had probably gone back to bed. He wouldn’t be available to take her to the rink. Not today.
    Probably not ever.
    She would have to catch a ride with a skating friend. Once again, she was on her own.
    ----
    After lunch, Livvy dashed to her bedroom and tore open her letter to Jenna. She sat at her desk and wrote the longest P.S. ever.
    She began by explaining how miserable she felt. How totally disappointed . . .
    P.S. My dad’s in the blackest cloud ever! He hardly even paid attention when I pleaded with him today. About NOT moving, that is. He’s determined to start a new life somewhere else. Somewhere far away from all our happy memories.
    Doesn’t he know that a part of Mom will always go with him no matter where he ends up?
    Oh, Jenna, you should’ve seen my coach’s face when I told her Dad wants to move. She looked absolutely ill. And I felt as sick as she looked. I haven’t told Dad yet, but I’m honestly thinking of staying here with my grandma. I can’t throw away everything I’ve ever worked for. Can I?
    Livvy found another envelope in her skinny desk drawer and rewrote the address. Without mangling the self-adhesive stamp, she removed it from the old envelope. She secured it to the new envelope with a thump of her fist.
    Before mailing her letter, she took time to clean the bottom of Coco’s cage. She also gave her parrot some fresh water and more food. “Say ‘thank you, Livvy,’ ” she prompted him.
    “Coco, cutie-bird.” He turned his neck to preen his feathers.
    “No, say ‘thank you,’ ” she repeated.
    “Cutie Livvy” came the unexpected reply.
    She couldn’t help but smile. “You’re just too much, you know?”
    “Too much . . . too much.”
    “I’m leaving now. Bye!” She closed her bedroom door, but Coco kept chitter-chattering.
    Letter in hand, Livvy hurried down the hall to herdad’s studio. She stopped to peek inside, expecting to see him consumed in the latest art project.
    Instead, she found him draped over the sketching table, snoozing. Soft music, featuring flowing water and chirping birds mingled with guitar melodies, played in the background. The music and the wilderness sounds were relaxing. No wonder he was sound asleep in the middle of the afternoon.
    Tiptoeing inside, Livvy went to stand near his chair. She looked down on her grieving father and noticed dark circles under his eyes. And his face seemed horribly pale.
    Oh, Daddy, I love you, she thought and felt her